Has microfinance become crisis-prone like other sources of finance? This paper provides empirical evidence on credit growth patterns of microfinance institutions in the early 2000s. Results suggest that microfinance has become vulnerable to financial turmoil. In the global financial crisis...

We provide evidence on the growth patterns of microfinance clients. Our analysis is motivated by the debate on the impact of microfinance on client income and growth. Based on loan-level data from close to 40,000 clients in Sub-Saharan Africa we make use of an econometric approach widely...

In light of the experience of the global financial crisis, this book develops concrete recommendations for financial sector reform and regulation in Asian economies aimed at preventing the recurrence of systemic financial crises, improving the ability to manage and resolve crises, managing...

This paper reviews the arguments against the ECB’s extended asset purchase programme. It is shown that the main lines of arguments — arguments those suggesting that under current economic conditions it was not needed to pursue quantitative easing, and arguments those indicating that...

The ECB decision to cut its benchmark interest rate in November 2013 has been severely criticised in Germany. Against this background, the President of the Bundesbank justified the ECB’s monetary policy stance in recent speeches. At the same time, however, he argued that this stance carries...